


Friends Won't Love Me Like You Do

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: (if you squint), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Monsters, Best Friends, Ficlet, Fluff without Plot, Friends to Lovers, M/M, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-14 01:23:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4544760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You mean it?" he asked, looking up at Castiel like there was actually a 50/50 chance of him saying yes or no, like it could go in either direction and not at all like he had really been in love with Dean since they were sixteen.</p><p>"Of course I mean it," Cas replied flatly and objectively, much like he would state any other fact. The earth was an oblate spheroid, the speed of light was 299,792,458 meters per second, and Castiel Novak was in love with Dean Winchester. It was the way of the world.</p><p>/ /</p><p>In which Dean is inept at saying the L-word (no, not lesbians, the <i>other</i> one) and Cas is the most patient boyfriend in the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends Won't Love Me Like You Do

**Author's Note:**

> this was mainly written because sometimes i'll be reading a fic and think to myself "dean said 'i love you' way too quickly". basically, this is my own headcanon of how long it would take for dean to say "i love you" to cas.
> 
> (title is from "friends" by ed sheeran.)

The first time Castiel said the words _I love you_ to Dean, they had been best friends for six years (and dating for two days, though that number seemed downright inconsequential compared to the former).

They'd just had a round of mind-numbingly _unbelievable_ sex, and Cas had his face buried in Dean's hair, mumbled it without even thinking about it because the words had been on his mind ever since they'd been awkward, clueless sixteen year olds. Dean looked up at him blankly, though for all his efforts to remain emotionless, a slow, barely-there smile began tugging at the corner of his plump, kiss-swollen lips. 

"You mean it?" he asked, looking up at Castiel like there was actually a 50/50 chance of him saying yes or no, like it could go in either direction and not at all like he had really been in love with Dean since they were paired up as partners in Mrs. Harvelle's home ec class. (That fake baby had been a royal pain in the ass, but the crying and screaming had almost been worth it to watch the way Dean rocked her back and forth and softly sang classic rock tunes in an effort to get her to stop.)

"Of course I mean it," Cas replied flatly and objectively, much like he would state any other fact. The earth was an oblate spheroid, the speed of light was 299,792,458 meters per second, and Castiel Novak was in love with Dean Winchester. It was the way of the world.

Dean didn't respond right away, instead choosing to duck his head into the crook of his neck. "I can't say it back," he admitted after nearly a minute had passed, voice so soft that Cas had to strain to hear it. Despite his words, though, Dean pressed a soft kiss against the sensitive skin of Cas's neck, and he could swear he felt a smile there, hidden from the rest of the world. "Not yet."

Cas smiled, softly carding his fingers through Dean's light brown hair. "It's okay," he replied, free hand trailing down to rest on his waist. "Even if you told me that you hated me, I wouldn't take back what I said. Whatever you do or do not feel for me will never change the fact that I love you."

All Dean could do, evidently, was kiss him in response. Cas definitely wasn't complaining.

 

 

He didn't need to say it back. As it turned out, Dean told Cas he loved him every day, though not in so many words. 

Like when Cas caught a particularly nasty strain of the flu that had been going around campus and without so much as a word, Dean got up and went out to buy all the necessary ingredients for some Winchester special chicken soup, as well as some green tea, actually _soft_ tissues (as opposed to the 1-ply store brand kind that could usually be found in their apartment), and a whole bag of Starburst just because it was Cas's favorite candy. Not to mention the fact that he actually stayed home and took care of him, and very nearly took a day off work just to make sure that he was okay until Cas made him go in with numerous threats of inflicting bodily harm if he didn't.

Or when they had been watching _The Empire Strikes Back_ in the living room for the five hundred and first time and Cas had fallen asleep curled up next to Dean on the couch, only to wake up in the middle of being carried to bed, a soft kiss pressed to his forehead as he blearily blinked his eyes open. 

It wasn't something that needed to be announced, but it was patently obvious. It was the way that Dean knew if Cas was having a bad day without asking (and also consequently knew exactly how to make him feel better), and the fact that he'd sometimes let Cas pick the music if they were in the Impala. The way that he'd make these ridiculous heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast if he was feeling particularly happy, and that Cas often caught Dean looking at him like he was the most beautiful, precious thing in the universe. 

Cas was positive that he was just as obvious, but that didn't stop him from saying it as often as he could. He'd say _I love you_ when he first woke up, murmuring the words into the sensitive skin just below Dean's ear. He'd say it just before they both left for work, right before he pecked him chastely on the lips. He'd say it over text, sometimes for the most inconsequential reasons, and he'd say it as soon as Dean got through the door when he returned from work. His favourite way to say it was breathless and groaned out when he was inside of Dean (or when Dean was inside of him; he really wasn't picky), just as he was about to come.

Dean's replies ranged anywhere from _I know_ , (to which Cas often replied _alright, Han Solo_ ) to a ridiculously wide smile. Either way, Dean was receptive, and Cas never minded that he still hadn't heard those three words from his boyfriend.

(Because he didn't need words to know that Dean loved him, too.)

 

 

The first time that Dean said _I love you_ to Castiel, they had been best friends for seven years and dating for one (the number a hell of a lot less inconsequential now).

They had been eating takeout and watching the newest season of _Sense8_ (at Cas's insistence; Dean himself was more of a _Sons of Anarchy_ kind of guy), Cas's head pillowed on his shoulder.

"I think I have a food baby," he'd announced, deadly serious and without a hint of a smile. While years ago Dean would have narrowed his eyes and spent a few minutes confused as all hell at his statement, over time he had grown to learn all the intricacies of Castiel's (mostly deadpan) sense of humor.

And then all at once, unable to help it, he felt overcome by a huge wave of affection for this dork who had wormed his way into his life all those years ago and was somehow inexplicably and completely in love with him, too.

 _Too_. Fuck, he really _was_ in love with Cas, wasn't he?

He grabbed Cas's shoulders and forced him to face him, looking into his deep blue eyes. 

_I am so in love with you_ , is what Dean meant to say.

What came out instead was, "You have soy sauce on your lip." 

He didn't even notice the hopeful little gleam in Cas's eyes until it was abruptly gone.

"Oh," he remarked, voice lower and softer than it had been a few seconds ago. 

It's official, Dean Winchester was totally and completely inept at this feelings thing. 

"Fuck, I'm sorry," he sighed, looking over at Cas. "Listen, I... I feel it too, okay? And I meant to say it, I _swear_ I did, but I just-- I said something stupid instead. No surprise there, right? And I'm actually really fucking mad at myself because it should've been so goddamn _easy_ , just like falling in love with you was, and--" He stopped suddenly once he noticed the huge grin on Cas's face, a slow grin spreading across his own once he realized what he'd actually just said. 

"I love you," Dean tested out, smile widening at the words that now easily rolled off his tongue. He actually _laughed_ , leaning in to kiss Cas. "I love you, I love you, I _love_ you." He kissed him over and over again until they were both breathless, letting out another _I love you_ between every kiss. 

"That's a lot of 'I love you's," Cas remarked after a few minutes, blinking up at Dean. 

Instead of replying right away, Dean tugged Cas up until they were both standing, leading him in the direction of their shared bedroom. 

"Yeah, well," he murmured, stopping along the way to kiss Cas again. "I've got a lot of lost time to make up for."


End file.
